April 2024 - Petr Bednarik

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Dr. Petr Bednarik

MedUni Wien RESEARCHER OF THE MONTH April 2024

The revolutionary deuterium-MRI imaging technique developed at the High Field MR Center, Medical University of Vienna, enables monitoring of glucose metabolism and neurotransmitter dynamics in the brain. Traditional methods for tracking glucose dynamics necessitated the use of intravenous radioactive tracers, limiting accessibility and safety for patients. However, this innovative method, utilizing orally administered deuterium-labeled glucose, promises to revolutionize neuroimaging by providing a non-invasive and non-radioactive alternative. By precisely monitoring glucose and neurotransmitter metabolism, crucial for understanding brain function and implicated in conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and brain tumors, this advancement holds immense potential for both research and clinical applications. Dr. Bednarik’s groundbreaking development represents a significant step forward in neuroscience, offering safer and more effective diagnostic avenues for understanding brain metabolism and function.

Selected Literature

1. Bednarik P, Goranovic D, Svatkova A, Niess F, Hingerl L, Strasser B, Deelchand DK, Spurny-Dworak B, Krssak M, Trattnig S, Hangel G, Scherer T, Lanzenberger R, Bogner W. 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging of deuterated glucose and of neurotransmitter metabolism at 7 T in the human brain. Nat Biomed Eng. 2023;7:1001-1013

2. Niess F, Hingerl L, Strasser B, Bednarik P, Goranovic D, Niess E, Hangel G, Krššák M , Spurny-Dworak D, Scherer T, Lanzenberger R , Bogner W. Noninvasive 3-Dimensional 1 H-Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Imaging of Human Brain Glucose and Neurotransmitter Metabolism Using Deuterium Labeling at3T : Feasibility and Interscanner Reproducibility. Invest Radiol. 2023;58:431-437

3. Rich LJ, Bagga P, Wilson NE, Schnall MD, Detre JA, Haris M, Reddy R. 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy of 2H-to-1H exchange quantifies the dynamics of cellular metabolism in vivo. Nat Biomed Eng. 2020;4:335–342

4. De Feyter HM, Behar KL, Corbin ZA, Fulbright RK, Brown PB, McIntyre S, Nixon TW, Rothman DL, de Graaf RA. Deuterium metabolic imaging (DMI) for MRI-based 3D mapping of metabolism in vivo. Sci Adv. 2018;4

5. Ruhm L, Avdievich N, Ziegs T, Nagel AM, De Feyter HM, de Graaf RA, Henning A. Deuterium metabolic imaging in the human brain at 9.4 tesla with high spatial and temporal resolution. Neuroimage. 2021;244:118639.

6. Deuterium metabolic imaging of the human brain in vivo at 7 T. Serés Roig E, De Feyter HM, Nixon TW, Ruhm L, Nikulin AV, Scheffler K, Avdievich NI, Henning A, de Graaf RA.Magn Reson Med. 2023;89:29-39.